August 2, 2014
PK Park (Capacity: 4,252)
Eugene, OR
Fredericksburg Nationals vs Fayetteville Woodpeckers
Final Score: 5 – 2
On a week-long trip to Oregon, our first stop was Eugene. The 2nd largest city in the state is located in the middle of the Willamette Valley at the confluence of two rivers. Despite a population of over 150,000, the Emerald City feels much smaller. This is one of the quirkiest cities in the country with eccentric, unique people full of alternative views. Eugene is also very green and environmentally conscious with a plethora of outdoor recreation opportunities. People walking or on bikes are everywhere. While the University of Oregon’s athletic teams dominate the area sports scene, the lone professional franchise has a storied history. The Eugene Emeralds date back to 1955, with much of that time spent in the Northwest League. They have won 4 league titles, but none since 1980. Historic Civic Stadium was home to the Ems for many years until the team cited deteriorating ballpark conditions and the team controversially left in 2010 for PK Park. The brand new stadium was built on Oregon’s campus as the school’s baseball team returned from a hiatus. The University of Oregon is an overlying theme at an Emeralds game and while it feels like the team is very much a secondary tenant, the ballpark is quite good.
Prestige Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Location
Eugene has a nice downtown with well landscaped areas and a decent amount of foodie hangouts with a college-town feel. The ballpark is in the Harlow section of the city, which is across the Willamette River. Away from both downtown and campus, this area includes Alton Baker Park and a nearby children’s museum. Most notably, Autzen Stadium sits right next to PK Park.
Location Ranking: 6.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
It is more straight-forward to drive to the complex from downtown Eugene by using the Ferry Street Bridge. Otherwise, access comes from I-5 (Western Oregon’s north-south highway) then I-105. Getting to the complex requires some odd backtracking, but following signs/arrows to Autzen Stadium works. Given the amount of needed open parking space for the stadium (and that you are in an open park setting), it is surprising and frustrating at how far one has to walk to reach the ballpark. Once you enter the awful gravel lots, it takes a 5-10 minute walk just to reach the side entrance and a little longer to reach the further ticket office. Certainly not a great introduction to the event.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Exterior
The more frequented side entrance does not have much architecture, however walking around to the home plate area does. The sleek design offers a variety of looks with brick and light-colored brick used in different portions. This is where it is clearly home to the University of Oregon as permanent markings and logos are for the Ducks and not the Emeralds. Instead, the Ems get a blow-up of their mascot. Similar to the other University venues, a towering wooden structure is displayed out front.
Exterior Ranking: 6.5 out of 10
Concourse
Stairs are needed to reach the main concourse and this area is covered about half of the way through. Views of the field are unobstructed and the best intro to the park is via the front entrance where the diamond is laid out right in front of you. Decorated with dark green, the space is clean and wide. Just one set of bathrooms is near the main entrance, but it is large enough. Love the Sasquatch right next to the women’s side, which gave my wife a fright coming out. There is also a lower level walkway, where a picnic area is set-up on the left side and down the right foul line is Levi’s Landing, a well-designed eating and hangout area for groups.
Concourse Ranking: 4 out of 5
Food
Only two primary concession stands exist at PK Park, however several side carts sell decent food. The Ems Shack offers up a hearty meal with their Thai Ginger Chicken Wrap (available in a bowl too). Local brand Prince Puckler served up the ice cream. At the main stands, aside from beef jerky and veggie burgers, there was not much else besides the usuals. Craft beer is huge in Oregon and the side carts reflect that with Oakshire, Ninkasi and Good Life varieties all on tap.
Food Ranking: 6 out of 8
Interior
I really liked the simple, yet classy and productive design of PK Park. Unlike the many other East Coast ballparks with seating bowls that are disjointed or stretched out, the new field here in Eugene is a nicely pitched bowl that goes from first to third base. The intimate seats are all within the infield and the forest green seat color matches the other visuals in the park. Sitting well above the concourse just behind the seats is a level for luxury suites with the press box in the middle. Covering these boxes and a majority of the seats below is a high wooden roof that has a great aesthetic look representative of the area. It is a clutch feature too, especially for the Oregon Ducks games that take place in the still rainy season. My only real gripe was the out of place extra set of bleachers down the left-side. While the outfield offers an unspectacular visual of some nearby trees, the unique view is on the third base-side, where Autzen Stadium dominates in the distance and you can see a little into that stadium. PK Park is well designed and a great place to watch a game.
Interior Ranking: 11.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
Better than the actual boards are the cool, cross-design light towers. Four of them grace the outfield and two support the scoreboard system. A stand-alone video screen is on the second lightpost from the right and the box score is on the post left of that. Both are quite basic with video quality being fine, though glare is a real issue as the setting sun directly shines to this area of the outfield. It’s really hard to see the numbers on the line scoreboard for the first half of 7:00 games and they should try to find a different color or improved lights.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2 out of 4
Displays
This is a Ducks ballpark first and foremost, so there is a lack of Emeralds displays. For the University, there are two busts in the corner near the stairs of the side entrance. These are for Mel Krause and Don Kirsch. While walking on the outside, there were side displays that looked like something should be on them. Yet, they were blank, so maybe this is a Ducks thing during their season? Eugene does have an Emeralds Hall of Fame, but I could not find any indication of that while extensively walking the ballpark.
Displays Ranking: 2 out of 6
Cost
Most of the stadium features a $10 ticket. For the first five rows near the field, it costs $13, while the far-away bleachers are $7. Programs are free and parking is a $3 charge. Food for a short-season A team is really out of whack, with patrons being insulted by nickel and diming items ($1 for a side of cheese for your pretzel!?, $3 for a single pickle!?). A cheeseburger runs $7, while drinks range from a $4 small soda to a $9 large craft beer.
Cost Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Fan Support
The numbers at the game were just ok as about half the park filled up with 2,000 in attendance for this Saturday Night contest. Eugene annually is around 4th in the league for attendance rankings, while their last two home playoff games drew an average of 1,500. That’s good for second amongst league playoff teams over the last several years. As for the Oregon Ducks baseball team, they tend to average a few thousand fans and the last couple years have ranked in the mid 30s for the NCAAs and about 4th in the Pac-12.
Fan Support Ranking: 5 out of 8
Atmosphere
Most short-season teams I’ve seen tend to have a good atmosphere as the community embraces the kids. That was the case inside this park as the fans paid close attention to the game and were quite supportive. Each hit was met with applause, runs were greeted with loud approvals and the crowd was even doing the little things like clapping strike 2’s when it mattered. They were savvy throughout. I usually don’t mention mascots, but Sluggo deserves a few words. I laughed more than a few times at his antics and was surprised to see the visiting team playing along as they were shot with water balloons and mooned, amongst other things. He is one of the most popular mascots in the minors and I can see why.
Atmosphere Ranking: 10 out of 14
Other Stuff
Let’s get more into Civic Stadium as that story is not over. Eugene’s historic venue opened in 1938 mainly for football before becoming a permanent baseball home for the Ems in 1969. The recent move was sad for many residents and the Eugene School District owns the stadium with uncertain plans, none of which involve saving the park. A grassroots effort called “Save Civic Stadium” is trying to keep the venerable facility alive for future sports use. I really hope that happens…..As for PK Park, the University of Oregon’s baseball team returned in 2009 after a 26 year hiatus. In their return, the Ducks have done very well with recent NCAA Tournament appearances…..Since 2001, Eugene’s affiliate has been San Diego….There is no Emeralds team store at PK Park, just a small tent area in the concourse…..A few years ago, the Emeralds went through a terrific and successful re-branding. Design company Brandoise focused on Eugene’s eccentricities and their green initiative to create and highlight a Sasquatch as the team’s focal point. This resulted in a fun logo and mascot with sharp colors, along with some unique promotions and other ideas (like EMTV and Sasquatch Throwdown)…..Similar to a few other parks in the rainy Pacific Northwest, they use field turf in PK Park. It takes a little of the authenticity away seeing the fake dirt in baseball…..The PK in the ballpark name comes from Pat Kilkenny, former Oregon Athletic Director who helped fund the stadium
Game
There was a lot of offense in this one and it took 3:11 to complete the nine-inning contest. Eugene jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the early innings and then things got interesting in the 5th inning. With Everett up, we saw 4 hits, 3 walks, 2 pitching changes and 1 balk. It all led to five runs, however the Ems answered in the bottom half to tie the game at 6. In the eighth inning, Eugene’s Auston Bousfield hit a home run and that was the winner. It did get a little interesting after that as Leoncio Munoz beaned the next batter up and was promptly tossed.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
